Email (IMAP/SMTP)

Email is the most widely used support channel. Auxilium connects to your mail server over standard IMAP and SMTP protocols, polling for inbound messages and sending replies on behalf of your agents. This guide walks you through creating an email channel entirely from the web UI.

How it works

1. Inbound (IMAP) – Auxilium connects to your IMAP server and monitors a mailbox (typically INBOX) for new messages. When a customer sends an email to your support address, Auxilium ingests it, creates or appends to a conversation, and routes it to the appropriate agent.
2. Outbound (SMTP) – When an agent replies from Auxilium, the platform sends the response through your SMTP server using the configured “from” address and display name. The customer sees a normal email in their inbox.

Creating an email channel

Step 1: Open the Create Channel dialog

Navigate to Channels in the sidebar, then click the Add Channel button in the top-right corner. This opens the Create Channel dialog.

Step 2: Enter the channel name

In the Channel Name field, enter a descriptive name for this channel – for example, Support Email or Sales Inquiries. This name will appear on the channel card in the grid.

Step 3: Select the Email channel type

Open the Channel Type dropdown and select Email. When you select Email, the dialog expands to reveal three additional configuration sections: IMAP Settings, SMTP Settings, and Support Email Address.

Step 4: Configure IMAP settings (incoming mail)

The IMAP section controls how Auxilium reads inbound email from your mail server. Fill in the following fields:

Step 5: Configure SMTP settings (outgoing mail)

The SMTP section controls how Auxilium sends outbound email on behalf of your agents. Fill in the following fields:

Step 6: Enter the support address

In the Support Address field, enter the email address that customers write to (e.g., support@company.com). This is typically the same as the IMAP username and the SMTP From Address.

Step 7: Test the connection

Before creating the channel, click the Test Connection button to verify that Auxilium can reach both your IMAP and SMTP servers.

The test runs against both protocols independently and displays results for each:

• Both succeed – You will see green success indicators for both IMAP and SMTP. You are ready to create the channel.
• One or both fail – The failing protocol shows a red failure indicator along with a specific error message describing what went wrong (e.g., “authentication failed” or “connection refused on port 465”). Fix the indicated issue and test again.

Step 8: Create the channel

Once both IMAP and SMTP tests pass, click Create to save the channel. The new channel card will appear in the Channels grid. Auxilium immediately begins polling the configured IMAP mailbox for new messages.

Provider-specific settings

Gmail

Enter the following settings in the Create Channel dialog:

You must also ensure that IMAP access is enabled in Gmail: Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP > Enable IMAP.

Microsoft 365 / Outlook

Enter the following settings in the Create Channel dialog:

For service accounts, you may need to enable SMTP AUTH in the Exchange admin center.

Custom IMAP / SMTP servers

For self-hosted or other providers, use the connection details from your mail server documentation. General guidelines:

• IMAP: Port 993 with TLS/SSL toggled on, or port 143 with STARTTLS.
• SMTP: Port 587 with STARTTLS, or port 465 with implicit TLS.
• Username: Usually the full email address, but some servers accept just the local part.
• Mailbox: Leave as INBOX unless you want Auxilium to monitor a different folder.

Troubleshooting

When the Test Connection button reports a failure, the error message will help you identify the issue. Here are the most common errors and their solutions.

Authentication failures

TLS and connection errors

SMTP-specific errors

Next steps

• Managing Channels – Learn how to edit, enable/disable, and delete channels after creation.
• Web Chat – Set up a web chat channel for real-time customer conversations.